Stronghold of Security
The Stronghold of Security, released on 4 July 2006, is a dungeon area for training combat, with connecting doors that previously required players to answer a security related question. The area immediately before the door is protected by another gate, so the player is protected from monsters. It is located in the middle of the Barbarian Village, and was the first major update open to free-to-play players since the upgrade to RuneScape 2. Doors The doors are styled to match each level, as are their names. The doors come in pairs similar to an airlock between areas. The door leading out of an area is passed through automatically, though it is possible to be hit while apparently having already passed through, dying inside the "safe" zone between the doors. Each "airlock" is a two by two square so to be safe, a player should walk to the next square after entering an airlock. Entering the door into the airlock grants immediate passage. At the start of each level is a portal leading to the reward different for every level including coins and a choice of Fighting boots or Fancy boots (each level of reward also unlocks one of the stronghold emotes including flap, stomp, and idea) and ladder room, granting quick access to players who have already negotiated the level, or who have sufficient combat level to be allowed immediate passage. Levels There are four levels, each one tougher than the last. Each level contains an entrance / exit point at the beginning and a portal to access the next level if re-entering after completing a level. The portal leads directly to the treasure room of the current level. There are some general monsters, plus others specific to the level. At the end of the level, there is a reward, typically coins and an emote, and exits to deeper levels, or back toward the surface. It is possible to claim all the rewards by running through the stronghold unarmed (this to ensure nothing is lost if killed). It helps to use the maps referenced below. It has been proven that at a very low combat that it can completed with no armour or food, but you can receive 8 or more hits from a single NPC as you run past it. Although hitpoints are helpful, it is quite possible to run through while at 10 hitpoints. If following the maps through the spots with less or lower levelled monsters. Food, Prayer and items to restore from damage would also be useful if available. If players have no food, prayer and have low hitpoints, one trick is to rest in between the airlocks for health. Although this is slow, it may ensure survival. Vault of War (1st level) * 1 - The entrance, portal and remains of an explorer. * 2 - A ladder up to Barbarian Village. * 3 - The Gift of peace. * 4 - The ladder down to level 2. * 5 - A ladder up to Barbarian Village * G - Goblins * M - Minotaurs * S - Wolves *Occupied by level 5, 11, 13, 16 and 25 Goblins, level 1 Rats, level 12 and 27 minotaurs and level 11 and 14 wolves. This is the only level which is a Multi-combat area. The monsters in this level are not particularly challenging. *An excellent level for ranged training, as the Minotaurs drop copious quantities of iron arrows and the fences are an excellent safe spot. *Also, there is absolutely no risk in this level unless you attack a monster, because none of the monsters are aggressive. *The Minotaurs may drop a right skull half and also drop noted bulk items, including rune essence, copper and tin ores. *The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Gift of peace containing 2000 coins and the "Flap" emote. Catacomb of Famine (2nd level) * 1 - The ladder from level 1 and the portal. * 2 - The ladder down to level 3. * 3 - The ropes to the start of level 1. * 4 - The Grain of Plenty. * F - Flesh Crawlers. * R - Giant Rats. * Z - Zombies. * This level is much more difficult than the previous level, apparently devoid of any safe spots other than unoccupied corridors and between door spaces, and the fact all the monsters are aggressive. * This level contains level 30, 40, 44 and 53 Zombies, level 28, 35 and 41 Flesh crawlers, and level 26 Giant rats. * It is sometimes possible to trap a monster on corners, and fight them safely with Ranged or Magic. * The Flesh crawlers may drop the Bottom of Sceptre piece for the skull sceptre, but often drop more valuable items such as uncut gems. Many high level free players tend to hang at the extreme south-east room training on crawlers taking advantage of their aggressiveness. For members flesh crawlers regularly drop grimy herbs (Ranarrs being the most valuable at nearly 12k each). It is possible to walk away after your training with 100-250k worth of items. * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a sack called the Grain of Plenty containing 3000 coins and the "Slap head" emote. Pit of Pestilence (3rd level) * 1 - The entrance from level 2 and the portal. * 2 - The Box of Health. * 3 - The ladder down to level 4. * 4 - The ladder to the start of the level. * C - Catablepons. * S - Scorpions. * G - Giant Spiders. * This level contains level 24 Spiders, level 50 Giant spiders, level 37 and 59Scorpions, and level 49, 64 and 68 Catablepons. * The Catablepons may drop a sceptre piece, but are tough opponents for lower levels, doing damage at an alarming rate. They also appear to have a high magic defence. It is difficult to find an ideal strategy, as they use magic to weaken, but have a melee attack. There is one safespot that always works, and is ideal for rangers or mages, although you will have to run into the group of aggressive catablepons to retrieve your arrows. * The level 50 Giant spiders are a popular place to train for higher levelled players, as they are aggressive to any levelled player, and do relatively little damage. They don't die so fast that it's ineffective to train on them, and they are relatively weak enough that you can kill them easily. With Guthans, a player could easily train to level 99 in a combat skill with no need of banking, except for if their Barrows armour depletes completely. * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Box of Health containing 5000 coins and the "Idea" emote. This chest will also provide full healing and stat restore, useful for restoring your Strength against the Catablepons. Sepulchre of Death (4th level) * 1 - The entrance from level 3 and the portal. There are also Shades but they aren't aggressive. * 2 - The Cradle of Life. * 3 - up to Barbarian Village * A - Ankous * S - Skeletons * G - Ghosts * All of the monsters in this level are all "undead", and are highly susceptible to the "Crumble undead" spell, the Salve amulet and its enchanted version. * There are some safe spots which, as in the pestilence level, are usable only when the monsters have given up attacking. There is one safespot in the south-western room where Ankous and skeletons are, although it is annoying trying to kill ankous because they can still get around it. * The Ankous may drop a piece of the sceptre. * The reward at the end of the level is gained from a chest called the Cradle of Life containing boots in a choice of two styles and the "Stomp" emote. Criticism A common criticism of the Stronghold is that monsters can still attack players even if they have passed through the door. This can cause death or wasted hitpoints. This is incorrect, though, as they cannot attack you through the gate but if you are hit before entering the gate, the damage may not be registered until once you are safely inside the airlock. Rewards The intermediate level rewards are coins and an emote. Skull Sceptre The Skull Sceptre can be obtained in four pieces from monster drops. It is inferior in combat stats to a magic staff, but has five charges to teleport back to the Barbarian Village. Only one kind of piece can be found in one level. They are a fairly rare drop, and can be obtained from Minotaurs (Right skull half) on the first level, Flesh crawlers (Bottom of Sceptre) on the second, Catablepons (Top of sceptre) on the third, and Ankous (Left skull half) on the fourth. Some monsters that drop the pieces come in various levels. The higher levelled ones seem to drop the piece more frequently, although this is not proven. To make it, you add the two skull pieces together, the two handle pieces together, and the handle and the skull together. Boots The two styles, fancy or fighting, may be obtained, exchanged, or replaced if lost, from the Cradle of Life at the end of the fourth level, reachable by portal and ladder once all levels are completed. There is no difference in statistics, though the fancy ones attract more attention, but the fighting ones are usually used for those who prefer a more serious look. The stats: These boots are equivalent to bronze, but are available to free players as well as members. Shade robes Shade robes can be obtained by killing shades on the last floor of the stronghold of security; they are non aggressive and can be max hit easily and often. Their combat level suggests they are stronger than they actually are. Shade robes are not transparent like ghostly robes. Music Unlocked *Dogs of War- Vault of War *Food for Thought- Catacomb of Famine *Malady- Pit of Pestilence *Dance of Death- Sepulchre of Death Trivia *Since this addition was for free players as well as members, the level 86 Ankou replaced the Lesser Demon as the second highest-levelled monster in Free-to-play worlds. Also, the level 85 skeletons became the strongest free-to-play monster in the game, with a max hit of 10, compared to 9 from a Greater demon (the level 85 skeletons have since dropped to second strongest with the addition of Cockroach soldiers, however). *The four levels of the Stronghold of Security were based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They were known as Pestilence, Famine, War, and Death, which are the names of the levels. *The entrance to the Stronghold looks like a blown open rock. It is also located in a mining area. *The Cradle of Life refers to the story about Pandora's box. *The door will give you a warning telling you recovery questions are important after clicking on it too many times. The screen will shake slightly before this will happen. *When the Box of Health's reward is taken, hitpoints will be returned to normal, all stats will go back to normal, and all status conditions will be cured. * In the third level of the Stronghold of Security, upon examining a skeleton with its right leg propped up it will tell you; "He should have run a virus checker more often." * If you click any of the doors long enough, they will let you through without answering a question and sometimes, players repeatedly click on the second doors (the ones that asks questions regarding on account safety and security) as a shortcut to avoid answering questions and proceed directly to the next room. *The dead adventurer in the first room of the dungeon has a hat that resembles Link's from the Legend of Zelda series. *You did not have to answer any questions when you passed through a door on a PvP World. *When you pass through one of the doors your character moves its head as if it was startled. This may be because graphically, your character seems to phase through the doors or teleport to the other side. *The tune, "Dance of Death" located in the final room could be thought of from the British Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden, who made an album and song titled, "Dance of Death". *In the south-west corner of the first floor, there are floating objects outside of the map that appear to be stars. *Jagex has removed the questions in the Stronghold of Security due to it being too childish. *The north-east door seems to be flipped. References * RuneScape Game Guide **The Stronghold of Security, including maps of each level * Dark RuneScape Wiki Category:Dungeons Category:Security